Burial-vault.



R. 0. ARMSTRONG.

BURIAL VAULT.

APPLIOATION FILED PEB. 2a, 1912.

1,034, 185. Patented July 3o, 1912.

CII

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEicE. ,y

RosWELL o. ARMSTRONG, or MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

BURIAL-VAULT.

T0 ZZ fui/wm if may conce/m:

Be it known that I, ROSWELL O. ARM* STRONG, of Minneapolis, Hennepin county, Minnesota, have invented certain new and luseful Improvements in Burial-Vaults, of

which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a burial vaultor casket which Will be airtight and impervious to the passage ofinoisture.

A further object is to provide a `vault which may be shipped from place to place in knock-down form and easily and quickly set up when desired for use.

The invention consists generally in a vault composed ot slabs of reinforced concrete having means for locking their abuttingedges together. y

Further the invention consists in various constructions and combinations, all as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,forming. part of this specification, Figure l is a side View of a burial vault embodying my invention, Fig. 2 is a cross section of the same, Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view illustrating the locking device ready to be moved to its locking position, Fig. 4: is a similar view, showing the locking device seated in its locking position, Fig. 5 is a perspective vievv of the locking device, Fig. 6 is a detail view of the plate for closing the open side of the casting.

In the drawing, 2 represents the bottom, 3 the side Walls, 4 the end Walls and 5 the top of the vault. The slabs composing these Walls are preferably made up of re-inforced concrete of suitable thickness, and the longitudinal edges ot the top and bottom preterably extend beyond the vertical edges ot the end Walls to form a space between them into which the side Walls are inserted, indicated in Fig. 2, thereby presenting a receptacle that is rectangular in cross section. At the joints betvveen the slabs I provide suitable packing strips 6, of rubber, canvas, leather, or other suitable material. In some of the Walls boxes or castings 7 are embedded, forming socketsSand locking plates 9 are secured to the Walls of the boxes or castings, having their free ends projecting into the sockets. These plates are preterably composed of spring material.' The Specification of Letters Yatent.

Application led February 28, 1912.

into their sockets.

]?atented July 30, 1912.

Serial No. 680,432.

boxes or castings 7 are open on one side to allow the convenient insertion of thelock- 'ing plates, and plates 7 are provided to bottom of the boxes 10 and enter the sock-- ets 8, being normally held above the tlocking plates 9 by means of springs 15.

When the vault is set up, the slabs are seated `against one another and the bolt heads 12 are forced down past the locking plates 9, separating ythe plates, and when the head has passed the ends ot' the plates the springs Will snap back in the rear of the heads' and lock the plates securely in the sockets. The depression of the bolts will be against the springs 15, so that the heads 12 Will be firmly held against the lower ends of the locking plates, as indicated in Fig. 4 and it will. be impossible to separate the slabs when the bolts have once been forced compressed to the position shown in Fig. 1l, and the tension of the springs will be" sufficient to hold the slabs snugly in contact with one another and compress the packing sufficiently to form an airtight, moisture-pr`oot` joint, Where the surface oi* the slabs abut one another. I prefer to `provide a. series of these locking bolts on each side of the vault, as indicated in Fig. 1, and the side Walls are preferably secured: to the end Walls by at least tvvo of the locking bolts, While generally one will be sutli cient for each of the top and bottom slabs. I do Vnot confine myself, however, to this number, as the locking devices may be located at any point on the slab Where it may seem desirable.

The vaults may be made in various sizes and the re-inforcing of the slabs may be varied, according to the size of the vault and the character of the cement construction.

When the vault has been set up I prefer to fill the recess above the bolts with a con- The larger head 13 Aon "the bolts is seated against a. shoulder 16 lformed on the casting 10, the spring being crete mixture 17 in plastic form, which will soon harden and conceal the locking bolts entirely.

I claim as my invention 1. A concrete receptacle comprising an end wall, a box having an open outer end embedded in said end wall, a cover, a second box embedded in said cover and open at each end and adapted to register with the open end of said first named box, a bolt having heads at each end adapted to be inserted through said cover box and into the box in said endwall, means engaging the head at the inner end of said bolt within said irst named box, said cover box having a seat for the other head of said bolt, the open end of said cover box being adapted to be filled with concrete in plastic form, thereby covering and sealing said bolt.

2. A concrete receptacle comprising an end wall, a box embedded therein and hav ing an open outer end, spring plates secured to the walls of said box and converging inwardly and adapted to be separated by pressure upon them, a cover having a socket therein adapted to register with the open end of said box, a bolt fitting within said socket and having a head at its outer end seated in said socket, a coiled spring interposed between said head and the bottom of said socket, the inner end of said bolt engaging said spring plates and spreading them apart, said inner end having means to be engaged by said plate for locking said bolt in said socket, whereby said Cover and end wall will be secured together.

3. A burial vault composed of flat slabs forming the side and end walls and the top and bottom thereof, boxes embedded in the edges of said end walls and having open outer ends, locking plates secured to the walls of said boxes and having converging inner ends, boxes embedded in the slabs abutting said end walls and having openings in their inner ends adapted to register with the openings in the boxes of said end Walls, bolts adapted to be inserted into said boxes and having means at their inner ends to engage and separate said plates and pass between them and be looked thereby, said bolts having heads at their outer ends adapted to be seated in said last named boxes simultaneously with the movement of said inner ends past said locking plates.

4. A burial vault composed of iiat slabs forming the side and end walls and the top and bo-ttom thereof, boxes embedded in the edges of said end walls and having open outer ends, locking plates secured to the walls of said boxes and having converging inner ends, boxes embedded in the slabs abutting said end Walls and having openings in their inner ends adapted to register with the openings in the boxes of said end walls, bolts adapted to be inserted into said boxes and having means at their inner ends to engage and separate said plates and pass between them and be locked thereby, said bolts having heads at their outer ends adapted to be seated in said last named boxes simultaneously with the movement of saidv inner ends past said locking plates, and springs interposed between said heads and said last named boxes.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto sot my hand this 22d day of February, 1912.

ROSVVELL O. ARMSTRONG.

Witnesses:

GENEVIEVE E. SoRENsEN, EDWARD A. PAUL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

